Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. 1 Peter 2:11
Having our prime minister march in a gay pride parade in a major city speaks volumes as to how low our 21st century society has sunk in its depravity and acceptance – even promotion – of those things that the Word of God clearly defines as shameful and an abomination. Those of us who are older remember a time when sin was still called sin and immorality was frowned upon by most. And we wonder at today’s depravity, because it seems like the world is worse than it has ever been before. But is it really? It was very bad in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, whose inhabitants God destroyed because of their unbridled homosexuality. And there have been many times and many places in our world where gross immorality of various kinds has been rampant. One of those times and places was the society of the Roman empire at the time that Peter wrote his epistles, including today’s text. So we have much in common with the people who would have first read today’s text.
Most of those to whom Peter was writing were Christians who had not be saved very long, and they lived in a society where all manner of immorality and sinful behaviour was common and was completely acceptable. All of a sudden, these folks are brought into the knowledge of the holiness of God and the holiness by which God’s people are to be marked. On one hand, they have a desire to serve their newfound Saviour, and on the other hand they are faced with a constant barrage of attractions that would lead them back into their former lifestyles. As Peter points out, these fleshly lusts war against the souls of the Christians. It is a vicious campaign and the devil would love to win those battles. Peter tells us the best approach in that war is to abstain from fleshly lusts.
Peter has a deep care for these young Christians; he refers to them as dearly beloved. And his use of the word ‘beseech’ tells us that he is doing his utmost to get this valuable lesson across. The word ‘beseech’ is translated from the Greek word ‘parakaleo’ Combining the thoughts of having someone come alongside and someone beckoning or beseeching, this word carries the picture of one who has something so important to say that he pulls right up alongside his listener, getting as close to him as possible; then he begins to literally plead with him to take some course of action. Today, it is not just the apostle Peter, but the Holy Spirit using the words He guided Peter to write, who beseeches us today to abstain from fleshly lusts.
Who will we listen to today? The world with all of its pleasures of sin for a season? Or the urging of the Word of God for us to be holy even as our Lord is holy? – Jim MacIntosh